TIDMALBA
RNS Number : 6004F
Alba Mineral Resources PLC
08 November 2022
Alba Mineral Resources plc
("Alba" or the "Company")
GROC Update: Key Milestone Passed at Amitsoq Graphite
Project
Alba Mineral Resources plc (AIM: ALBA) is pleased to note the
announcement today by its portfolio company, GreenRoc Mining plc
("GreenRoc") (AIM: GROC), of the completion of a successful
spheronisation test work programme on graphite from the Amitsoq
Island deposit, part of GreenRoc's flagship Amitsoq Graphite
Project in South Greenland. Alba holds a 54% majority interest in
GreenRoc. The announcement is set out below without material
changes.
Alba's Chairman, George Frangeskides, commented:
"Confirmation that Amitsoq graphite is suitable for the
production of spherical graphite marks the achievement of a key
milestone for the project. The success of this latest phase of the
commercialisation test work programme for Amitsoq graphite provides
a very solid foundation for discussions with potential EV industry
partners and customers.
"The rapid progress which is being made at Amitsoq underscores
the importance to Alba of its considerable stake in GreenRoc."
GreenRoc Mining Plc
("GreenRoc" or the "Company")
Amitsoq Graphite Update
GreenRoc Passes Key Milestone Following Successful
Spheronisation Tests
GreenRoc Mining Plc (AIM: GROC), a company focused on the
development of critical minerals projects in Greenland, is pleased
to announce the results of advanced spheronisation test work
conducted by its technical consultants, ProGraphite GmbH
('ProGraphite'), an industry leading graphite research and testing
laboratory based in Germany. Sample material taken from the Lower
Graphite Layer (LGL) at the Amitsoq Island deposit, part of the
flagship Amitsoq Graphite Project in South Greenland ('Amitsoq'),
has been tested to assess its ability to produce spherical
graphite.
Spherical graphite is used by Electric Vehicle ("EV") battery
manufacturing companies as the anode material in an EV battery. The
anode sector is the fastest growing market for graphite and the
ability to upgrade natural graphite to a high purity spherical
graphite product is a prerequisite for entry into that market.
GreenRoc is delighted to announce that the micronisation and
spheronisation test work conducted by ProGraphite confirms that
Amitsoq graphite easily upgrades to a spherical graphite
product.
Key Points
-- Graphite concentrate from Amitsoq is very suitable for
micronisation and spheronisation, with a high-quality spherical
graphite easily produced and exhibiting good commercial
properties.
-- A primary concentrate product of at least 96.5% graphite can
be achieved with relatively little processing.
-- The concentrate micronised easily and with relatively little
energy input, resulting in a very uniform micronised material.
-- Two spherical graphite products were then produced, with
median diameters of 15 and 19 micrometers, respectively.
-- The physical target values for spherical graphite, such as
narrow particle size distribution and high tap density, were
achieved and exceeded.
GreenRoc's CEO, Stefan Bernstein, commented:
"The successful micronisation and spheronisation of graphite
concentrate from the Lower Graphite Layer at the Amitsoq Island
deposit is a very significant milestone for our flagship project.
It shows that our graphite can be processed into anode-grade
graphite, a key raw material in the manufacturing of EV batteries
for electric cars. Furthermore, the characteristics of the Amitsoq
spherical graphite, such as tap density and narrow size
distributions, meet important requirements for anode material.
"It is notable that ProGraphite found that only four flotation
cleaning stages were required to reach a primary concentrate
product of at least 96.5% graphite. This is very positive as it
suggests that our future processing plant in Greenland will be able
to run with a reduced number of cleaning stages compared to what
had previously been assumed. This will shorten processing time,
conserve energy and reduce the costs of production. Over the coming
weeks we will conduct further testing and characterisation of our
spherical graphite product.
"Spherical graphite is presently only produced in China, so with
these test results, Greenroc Mining is well positioned to become an
important supplier of raw materials to the EV industry."
Details
ProGraphite in Germany received quarter core intersections of
LGL graphite from five drillholes drilled in 2021 at the Amitsoq
Island deposit, which is part of the flagship Amitsoq Graphite
Project. One single homogenous sample, weighing 45kg, was prepared
by compositing crushed material from all the pieces of drill core.
After passing one rougher and four cleaner flotation stages, a
concentrate with 96.5% graphite was produced. This concentrate was
then subjected to micronisation, which serves to reduce the
graphite grain size to pre-determined sizes before spheronisation.
The micronisation size in turn determines the mean grain size of
the spheronised material. Micronisation produced two fractions of
graphite, namely one at d50 of 16um and one coarser at d50 of 21
um.
Spheronisation was then carried out on that micronised material,
using a laboratory-scale spheronisation unit. No issues were
encountered in this step either, and the Amitsoq graphite
concentrate proved to be easily spheronised. The two micronised
size fractions both yielded spherical graphite, with d50 of 19.03um
for the coarser of the two fractions and 15.06um for the finer.
Such size fractions are common spheronised graphite products used
by EV-battery makers.
Both size fractions of spheronised graphite show good
specifications, expressed as a low size ratio of d90/d10 which are
at 2.4 (d50 of 19.03um) and 2.5 (d50 of 15.06um) - the requirement
for anode material is a ratio of d90/d10 of lower than 3.0 and low
values suggest a narrow size interval.
Tap densities are 0.98 and 0.96 kg/l for the coarse and fine
fractions, respectively, which exceed the standard minimum
requirements of 0.96 kg/l for the coarse fractions and 0.93 kg/l
for finer fractions (Tables 1 & 2). A high tap density provides
higher capacity for EV batteries.
Table 1, showing result of spheronisation of the Amitsoq
graphite concentrate, micronised to 21 and 15 um, respectively. D50
is the median size of the spheronised graphite, here at 19 and 15
um.
Table 2, giving further specifications of the two spheronised
graphite products.
The yield was 54% for the coarse fraction and 55% for the fine
fraction - which is at the higher end of the typical range for
batch spheronisation and suggests a minimal loss of material to
undersize during processing.
The high quality of the spheronised graphite from Amitsoq can be
appreciated by inspecting the Scanning Electron Microscope images
presented in Figures 1 and 2 - both are from the coarse fraction
with d50 of 19.03um, with the images captured at different
magnifications. In both images, the graphite grains can be seen as
being well rounded and with quite narrow size distribution, in turn
ensuring close packing and high capacity when used as anode
material for EV batteries.
Further tests relating to purification and the measurement of
various physical and electrochemical parameters of Amitsoq graphite
will be conducted in due course in order to provide potential
customers and end users with a full set of specifications in future
commercial discussions.
Figure 1. SEM image of Amitsoq spheronised graphite (d50 of
19.03um). Note the well-rounded potato-shape particles. Scale bar
of 100um (=0.1mm).
Figure 2. SEM image of Amitsoq spheronised graphite (d50 of
19.03um). Scale bar of 20um (=0.02mm).
Conclusion
Only four stages of flotation cleaning were required to achieve
a concentrate containing 96.5% graphite, thus vastly exceeding the
minimum requirements of 94% graphite for spherical graphite
production. The concentrate micronised and spheronised easily and
the two size fractions which were produced not only meet but in
fact exceed the physical requirements for the anode material used
in the manufacturing of EV batteries.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of the UK Market Abuse Regulation and the Directors of the Company
are responsible for the release of this announcement.
Glossary
C(g)% or Graphitic Carbon: Carbon may be present in rocks in
various forms including organic carbon, carbonates or graphitic
carbon. Carbon in rocks may be reported as fixed or total carbon
(i.e. organic carbon + carbon in carbonate minerals + carbon as
graphite) or as graphitic carbon or total graphitic carbon (or TGC)
(i.e. total carbon - (organic + carbonate carbon)). In this report,
graphite results are indicated as graphitic carbon or % C(g).
d 10: The portion of particles with diameters smaller than this
value is 10%.
d 50: The portions of particles with diameters smaller and
larger than this value are 50%. Also known as the median
diameter.
d 90: The portion of particles with diameters smaller than this
value is 90%.
um: micrometer. One um = 1/1,000 mm.
Tap density: Density measured after a certain volume of
spherical graphite is stored in a container and subjected to low
frequency vibration. The higher the density, the more closely
packed are the graphite spheres, which is good for the resulting
battery capacity.
Competent Person Declaration
The information in this release that relates to Exploration
Results has been reviewed by Mr Mark Austin. Mr Austin is a member
of SACNASP (Reg. No. 400235/06), Fellow of The Geological Society
and Fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa. He has a
B.Sc. Honours in Geology with 38 years' experience.
Mark Austin has sufficient experience that is relevant to the
style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and
to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person
as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for
Reporting of Exploration targets, Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves', also known as the JORC Code. The JORC
code is a national reporting organisation that is aligned with
CRIRSCO. Mr Austin consents to the inclusion in the announcement of
the matters based on his information in the form and context in
which they appear.
Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating
to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results
that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market
and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the
regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation,
uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans,
uncertainties resulting from working in a new political
jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration,
uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting
rights, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of
regulatory and other third party consents and approvals,
uncertainties regarding the Company's or any third party's ability
to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of
unexpected events.
Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided
herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors.
About ProGraphite
ProGraphite GmbH is a specialist consultancy laboratory based in
Germany and has served the carbon and graphite industry for more
than 20 years. ProGraphite provides in-house testing capacity over
a wide range of carbon and graphite products and is an
industry-leading expert.
**ENDS**
For further information, please visit www.albamineralresources.com or contact:
Alba Mineral Resources plc
George Frangeskides, Executive Chairman +44 20 3950 0725
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nomad)
Andrew Emmott +44 20 3368 3555
OvalX (Broker)
Thomas Smith +44 20 7392 1494
St Brides Partners (Financial PR)
Isabel de Salis / Catherine Leftley
alba@stbridespartners.co.uk
Alba's Projects and Investments
Mining Projects Operated Location Ownership
by Alba
Clogau (gold) Wales 100%
----------- ----------
Dolgellau Gold Exploration
(gold) Wales 100%
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Gwynfynydd (gold) Wales 100%
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Limerick (zinc-lead) Ireland 100%
----------- ----------
Investments Held by Alba Location Ownership
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GreenRoc Mining Plc (mining) Greenland 54%
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Horse Hill (oil) England 11.765%
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